Zelensky warns of escalation of conflict between Ukraine and North Korean troops for the first time

Ukraine has entered into military conflict for the first time with South Korean troops deployed to support Russia in its ongoing war with its neighbor. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said in a Tuesday evening address.

Zelensky did not go into detail about the interaction, but warned that he said Russia intends to escalate the war, which has raged for almost 1,000 days.

A Kyiv official said that the Ukrainian army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers. Kursk border region of Russia..

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“Terror, unfortunately, can spread like a virus when it does not meet with sufficient counteraction. Now our counteraction must be sufficient, strong enough. The first battles with North Korean soldiers opened a new chapter of instability in the world,” Zelensky said on Thursday. his evening video message in which he thanked Ukraine’s allies around the world.

“Together with the world, we must do everything to ensure that this Russian step to expand the war with real escalation fails. Both for Russia and for South Korea.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia, with a “significant number” in front-line areas including the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops staged an invasion in August.

According to Reuters, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korean state television that there had been a “minor clash” with North Korean troops. The report, with excerpts from the interview, quotes Umerov as saying that the fighting was small and not yet systematic in terms of mobilizing soldiers.

Umerov reportedly said he expected five North Korean units, each numbering about 3,000 soldiers, to be deployed to the Kursk area. The North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian soldiers and misidentified by their uniforms, Umerov said, according to the Associated Press.

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Russia There are reported to be 1.3 million soldiers on active duty. with another 2 million in reserves. Russia now faces the highest death toll than at any time since the war began, with 1,200 casualties reported daily, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week. Despite the high number of military casualties, there is no end in sight to the war, confirming early fears that it would be a war of attrition.

Zelensky is sounding the alarm that the recent deployment of North Korean troops in Russia not only creates problems for Ukraine, but also calls into question the stability and security of Asian countries that are allies of the West.

“North Korea’s actions are not accidental,” Zelensky said in a candid interview with South Korea’s state broadcast network KBS on Thursday. “They have strategic goals.”

“Their actions are not accidental – they want Russia’s support in return,” he added in comments also posted on his social media account on X.

Zelensky called on South Korea to play a more active role in the conflict and said South Korea has already promised to send a team of specialists to Ukraine, where they will cooperate on defense capabilities, including air defense, since North Korea also provides Russia with artillery and missiles.

“If South Korea wants to understand the real capabilities of North Korea and its soldiers, it would be helpful for them to be here to see and analyze the reality with their own eyes,” he said. Consider How close is North Korea to Seoul? (25-30 miles), the range of modern artillery, even missiles.”

“Air defense cannot withstand artillery strikes. Our own cities were destroyed by artillery. I hope South Korea never faces this, but preparation is crucial,” Zelensky added.

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Zelensky also questioned China’s “silence” regarding North Korea’s recent involvement in the war.

Meanwhile, North Korea It reportedly fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday.

The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the US mainland. In response to this launch, the United States launched the B-1B long-range bomber as part of a trilateral exercise with South Korea. and Japan on Sunday in a show of force.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.